1. The most important thing about buying a new
bike is to make sure it fits. The only way you'll know if the bike is right
for you is to size up the bike and make sure that the bike's geometry matches
your body's geometry. Ask questions and do some research.

2. If possible, try to find a shop that will
let you demo the bike on real dirt. Five minutes in a parking lot won't cut
it. You wouldn't buy a car without a real world test drive, and a bike should
be no different.

3. Don't belive the hype. Just because
your favorite rider or best friend rides a certain bike, that doesn't mean
that's the best one for you. Have an open mind and be realistic about your
needs and ability.

it is a 1x9 setup with a 36t front chainring and a bbg bashguard. all in all it was a fun build and fun to ride. but i have broken a few parts here and there. i have a new race face crankset on the way and hopefully that will clear up some of the last issues i have been having.

Nice looking bike. Just a note and its not a big thing since the BBY7s are mechanical but on the front brake line, run that to the inside instead of the outside. With hydraulics, if you happen to lay the bike down on that side and it catches a rock or something sharp, it could rip the hose leaving you with no front brake which could still get you back to the parking lot with only the rear brake, but still sucks.

Congrats on the build. That's a pretty ambitious project for a beginner; looks good.

That second picture threw my off big time for a few seconds there.
Keep a close eye on the chainstay; IME frames that weren't designed to take braking forces on the chainstays have a bad habit of cracking if you start applying them in a place they're not expecting.

How is the brake alignment with the adapter? I'm thinking about putting one on my gf's bike when we upgrade her rear wheel and go to a 1x9 setup cause she never uses the front gears. I already put my old fork, disc brake and front wheel on her bike. I'm basically just building on her frame with my leftovers

Re: started mountain biking.

The alignment was a bit off. I ended up using a fender washer as a spacer on one of the Isis to post mount bolts and that put it back into true. the bb7 brakes allowed to adjust the inner and outer pads helped a lot too. you can see the washer here.